


to win with you, to win for you

by wreckedpetals (wreckedshoes)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Battle Royale AU, Fluff, Guilds, Johnyong, M/M, Supernatural - Freeform, Teams, Virtual Reality, dojae, markhyuck, nct - Freeform, nomin, virtual reality game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wreckedshoes/pseuds/wreckedpetals
Summary: lee donghyuck has trained his entire life for this moment and he finds everything about mark lee annoying, but yet he can't seem to dislike mark lee's damn smile. on the other hand, he finds a certain na jaemin unbearable.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	to win with you, to win for you

**Author's Note:**

> really don't know what came upon me to write a fic about a virtual reality game, but i gues some inspirations came from the Jaemin and Jeno playing PUBG.
> 
> let's say this like the hunger games except without the corrupted government, districts, rebellion, and deaths. 
> 
> RATED MATURE for guns and violence even if it is virtual + also some swears here and there

Run, run, run.

That was the only thing on Mark’s mind as he’s holding his sword close to his chest and defending himself from every opponents’ incoming attacks. He’s doing well surviving this far into the game and he isn’t going to let himself die now.

That was until, well, his hell of a partner decided to appear. 

“I told you to stand back!” Donghyuck yells, jumping in front of Mark in order to prevent him from taking another step. “Why don’t your big ass head ever listen to orders?”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Mark retaliates. They’re on the same team, but Donghyuck has one of the worst battle plans ever. Sometimes Mark thinks it’s better to do things himself than to follow some stupid order. He wants to run past Donghyuck, but the boy decides to grab his wrist. 

“I’m not the boss,  _ but _ I am the team captain.” Donghyuck replies just as strongly. He shoots daggers at Mark who gladly returns them back. 

“You’re just a mage.” Mark says and Donghyuck huffs.

“What does me being a mage have to do with anything we’re arguing about?” 

“It just does.”

“You’re so stupid, Mark Lee.”

“Don’t piss me off, Lee Donghyuck.”

_ “Alright, that’s enough, you two.”  _ The battlefield wall disperses to its normal white training walls and the voice spoke through the speaker above from the control room. “You two are our Mad City’s best players but with teamwork like that, neither of you will even pass the tournament’s first level.” Taeyong says with an annoyed sigh. “And you will never beat New Love.”

Donghyuck huffs again, letting go of Mark’s wrist roughly before leaving the training room. He exits through the door where Johnny’s standing with two towels in hand. He throws one on Haechan’s head and tosses the other to Mark. “When are you two gonna learn to get along?” He asks gently.

Donghyuck wipes the sweat off his forehead. “When Mark pulls his head out of his ass.” He answers and Mark rolls his eyes.

“When Donghyuck stops being a pain in the ass.”

“Oh, is that the best you could think of, Canada?”

“You don’t deserve the best, Hyuck.” 

Johnny sighs as the two kids continue to bicker louder and louder until he finally gets enough of them and claps his hands louder than their voices. “That’s enough!” He says and the kids finally shut their mouths. “Is this how you’re planning to be during the competition?” He says but Mark and Donghyuck only reply with turned heads.

The elevator beeps open and Taeyong, the leader of their Mad City guild, steps through with concerned eyes. He walks towards them with heavy steps and if it weren’t for Johnny being there, Mark knew Taeyong would’ve given them the scolding of their lifetime. “Are you two really not going to get along?” He turns to Donghyuck. “Do you really think you can beat Jaemin like this?

Donghyuck visibly freezes before he leaves even when Taeyong tells him to stop. He’s always been a hot-headed kid whilst Mark, though also can be hot-headed, listens well enough with Johnny around. He looks at the older, who lets out a tired sigh. 

“There’s no use chasing after him when he’s like that. I’ll go start dinner.” He says and pecks Taeyong’s temple softly. Mark was about to follow him but Johnny gave him a point. “You stay here with Taeyong and think about how you acted.” He instructs and Mark silently complies, watching as Johnny walks away.

Neo Tech is a virtual reality battle game that instantly became the most popular game to ever exist. The game was first launched as a multiplayer battle royale, but these past few years, people have been forming teams and creating guilds within the society.

Mad City currently rules as one of the top guilds in the game and have been holding the title for well over a year after their rival, New Love, took their win last year. Though, the battle for first place has always been tossed between the two teams, making them well-known competitors. 

Taeyong is the leader of Mad City with Johnny being the second. They built the guild together, treated it as their home, and their players as their family. 

Mark and Donghyuck had joined Mad City relatively the same time four years ago and have climbed their statuses as the two best players in the guild. However, the only problem was, they could never get along, inside or outside of battle. They were polar opposites in many ways, often clashing with each other during battles where they would win unsatisfyingly. 

Donghyuck is stubborn and calculative. While his attack skills are average, he takes his time taking in his opponents’ moves and developing plans to counterattack. Mark is the opposite. He doesn’t think before he moves which often gets him falling into traps, but as a pro Gunpointer, he’s quick on his feet that leads him to fight skillfully. 

Every year’s tournament is different. Last year, it was a battle between the guild leaders, so it was Taeyong and Johnny against the other guild leaders, with New Love guild taking the prize. The year before that, the rules were full guild battles, which was unfortunate for smaller guilds with a lesser number of members, with Mad City winning first. 

Donghyuck was surprised when Taeyong announced they were chosen as the pair to participate in this year’s challenge. This year, it is a battle of the guilds’ best fighters. Johnny nominated Mark, and Taeyong nominated Donghyuck. They were both surprised with their decisions but ultimately went with it. Though perhaps it wasn’t the best moment right now.

Mark absentmindedly rolls the broccoli in his plate with his chopsticks. It’s a quiet dinner that Donghyuck doesn’t join. “He’s still not here?” Johnny asks as he puts the last dish onto the center of the table. “I ought to go and drag him here.”

“Let him be.” Taeyong answers. “He has a lot going on in his mind right now, especially regarding Jaemin. Let’s give him some alone time.” He says and Johnny complies, though he’s never happy when one of his members is upset.

_ “And New Love’s ‘Double J’ wins again with Jaemin taking the last shot! This is their third consecutive win this season, can they keep their streak up until the world tournament?” _

The younger one is in his room again, door closed and lights off as he’s watching one of Na Jaemin’s rerun competitions. The boy had just won another game in the season, smiling widely into the camera with his battle partner and boyfriend, Lee Jeno. 

_ “Do you have anything to say about your win?” _

Jaemin smiles.  _ “Hmmm, thank you to everyone supporting us, our guild leaders, and of course, my Jeno taking the front ground.”  _ Jaemin’s smile is absolutely dazzling, and Donghyuck dislikes it so much. He disliked it ever since Jaemin had beaten him several consecutive times three years ago. He promised himself that if anyone is going to take down Na Jaemin, it’s going to be him, and it’s going to be at this year’s tournament.

Frankly, Donghyuck is quite glad Taeyong had chosen him to compete in the challenge. He is one of the best players after all even if Mark does ruin his battle plans all the time. He knew Jaemin and Jeno would be chosen as New Love’s representatives, and he’s going to take this chance to finally take him down.

His door slides open and Donghyuck sees Mark’s dumb head peek through shyly. “Johnny says there’s dinner downstairs for you if you’re hungry.” He informs and Donghyuck hums, tossing his tabloid away on his sheets before sliding out of bed. Mark blinks at him. “Where are you going?’

“Taking a walk outside.” Donghyuck answers as he slips on his shoes.

“It’s getting dark, do you want me to come along?”

“No,” Donghyuck says, “I want to be alone right now.” He leaves his room and Mark watches him walk down the hall. He looks at Donghyuck’s tabloid with Na Jaemin still smiling on screen before he exits the room. 

In hindsight, Donghyuck realized he should’ve bought a sweater with him. It was spring but the nights were chiller than the day. He rubs his bare arms for warmth as he walks past the park where several kids were talking about the upcoming tournament.

“I think New Love is going to win again.” One boy says. “They have Jeno and Jaemin, so they’re totally unbeatable.”

“You don’t know about that,” Another boy says. “It could be Vision winning this year. I heard they’ve been training their top members relentlessly.” There’s a pause. “Hey, how about Mad City?”

“Mad City? Well they do have a chance since they have Mark after all.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. Mark wouldn’t be able to find his way out of a room even if the exit sign hits him in the face. He leaves the kids’ talking and heads towards the river. He sighs as he leans on the railing and stares at the water hitting the piers with a splash. 

The tournament is two weeks away and he and Mark haven’t made any progress yet. It’s all Mark’s fault anyway for not listening to his plans. His plans aren’t  _ stupid _ , it just doesn’t work when Mark  _ doesn’t follow _ . But Taeyong is right, at this rate, he’ll never beat Jaemin in any battle.

“Stupid Mark,” Donghyuck whispers to himself as he throws a pebble into the river. “Still…” Maybe he’s being too dramatic. After all, Mark Lee isn’t  _ mean _ . He’s the sweetest boy ever, and he only bites when Donghyuck barks. If they could put their differences aside, they would be unstoppable. 

Donghyuck rolls his eyes at himself. “I can’t believe I have to apologize to him.”

There’s a set of footsteps that approaches Donghyuck, and before he could turn around, he hears the familiar voice that strikes through his chest. 

“Donghyuck…?”

The voice was as clear as crystal, yet it felt different than hearing it without a screen. Donghyuck slowly turns to meet Jaemin’s doe eyes staring at him. He’s dressed in a pink sweater and a pair of blue jeans. It’s such a Jaemin look. 

Jaemin smiles, his eyes sparkling. “So it is you. It’s been a while.” He says softly but Donghyuck doesn’t greet back. Jaemin holds his smile. “How are you?”

“What are you doing here?” The competition doesn’t start until two weeks; Jaemin should still be in Busan right now. Donghyuck didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but he can’t hide his surprised tone in front of Jaemin.

“We decided to arrive earlier for training.” Jaemin replies gently. “I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought we’d meet during the competition.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Not quite the reunion you imagined, I assume.” He says and Jaemin chuckles softly, shaking his head.

“Seeing you is always a nice reunion, Donghyuck.” Jaemin replies and Donghyuck rolls his eyes. Jaemin takes a step forward but stops when Donghyuck sends him a warning of a stare. “Let’s go to a cafe, we can catch up.” Jaemin offers but Donghyuck immediately declines. “Hyuck, please.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Jaemin frowns. “I missed you. The last time I saw you was when–”

“When you beat my ass during the Winter Games three years ago.” Donghyuck finishes. “I was the first person you targeted, and it left my guild in shambles. Did you not understand how difficult that was? To be taken out not as the first player, but  _ by you _ ?” A hot tear falls down Donghyuck's cheek. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be showing his feelings. He shouldn’t be mad at Jaemin. “I just want to know,” Donghyuck chokes out, “How did you get so good? How did  _ you _ take _ me  _ out?”

Jaemin is about to speak when Donghyuck hears Mark shout his name. He turns to see the older boy running towards him, his face full of concern. “Donghyuck,” Mark holds the boy’s face, watching the tears fall and he glares at Jaemin. “What the hell did you do to him?” Jaemin immediately shakes his head, waving his hand in front of him frantically but Mark isn’t convinced. “Then why is he crying? If you did something, then I swear to God–”

“What is going on?” Another voice speaks out and Mark turns to see Jeno dropping a bag of snacks before running to protect Jaemin. 

“Jeno,” Jaemin calls as Jeno has a protective arm over him, glaring at Mark with the darkest look in his eyes. But Mark doesn’t stand down, so he hides Donghyuck behind him and sizes up Jeno. They’re both glaring at each other with neither backing down and they’re testing each other with a tension that makes both Donghyuck and Jaemin uncomfortable.

“Jaemin,” Jeno calls, eyes still set on Mark. “Are you hurt?” He asks and Jaemin shakes his head, his hand on the older’s sweater untightening. Jeno slowly puts his guard down and turns to face his boyfriend, pressing his lips against Jaemin’s pink ones. “I was so worried. When I turned around, you were gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Jaemin says slowly. “I wanted to take a walk.”

“That’s fine but tell me first. We’re not familiar with this area.” Jeno says and Jaemin nods before the former pulls him into a tight hug. “Come on, let’s go back.” He says as he picks up the bag of snacks but not before shooting Mark one last look. “This isn’t over.” Jeno hisses and Mark snorts.

“Save that attitude for the games.” Mark replies before turning to Donghyuck who was looking everywhere but him. Mark clears his throat and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “Um, you aren’t hurt, are you?” He asks and Donghyuck shakes his head. Mark sighs with relief. “Let’s go. Taeyong hyung is worried.”

Donghyuck follows him but before they start walking, Mark hands him his own sweater. “You’re shivering.” He says and Donghyuck only blinks before wrapping the sweater around his body. 

“Thanks.”

When they arrived back at the guild, it was late, and way past their curfew. Taeyong wouldn’t be happy if he heard about this. Mark walked Donghyuck to his room and he stayed quiet for the most part until they reached his door.

Donghyuck was upset. His emotions were always easy to tell. “Sleep well,” Mark breaks the silence but Donghyuck doesn’t make a move into his room and Mark doesn’t leave. “Look,” Mark speaks again, catching Donghyuck’s attention. “I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with Jaemin, or if he’s done anything for you to hate him so much, but I promise you,” Mark takes in a breath, “that I’ll help in every way for you to win against him. I’m rooting for you, but that means we have to put our differences aside and actually work together, alright?”

Mark is handsome. He had this boyish look that gave off a manly aura. He may not be as strong or tall as Johnny, or as smart as Taeyong, but he was Mark. And to Donghyuck, perhaps that was enough. 

“Thanks, Mark.” Donghyuck says, breaking into a soft smile before entering his room.

“I didn’t expect New Love to be here so soon.” Taeyong says the next morning during breakfast as he placed down the plate of scrambled eggs. “Maybe we should greet them.”

Johnny chuckles as Taeyong hands him his morning coffee. “Should we send a basket of fruit?” He jokes and the guild leader smiles before sitting down next to him. Johnny grins back, reaching over to hold Taeyong’s hand into his own. “Don’t worry, the kids will start to learn how to work together soon. It takes time.”

Mark and Donghyuck stumbled into the dining room with loud yawns, still in their pyjamas and Johnny gestures to them to sit down. “Morning,” He says, handing the kids their mugs of orange juice. “Had a good night's sleep?”

Donghyuck hums and Mark yawns. “Sure,” they say in unison and Taeyong chuckles. 

“I heard you met up with Jaemin yesterday,” their guild leader says and Donghyuck almost chokes on his juice. He looks at Mark whose guilty face says it all.

“More like unfortunately stumbled upon.” Donghyuck corrects him as he remembers last night’s fiasco. He chews on his toast and looks over to Mark who’s silently eating his breakfast. Taeyong and Johnny are at the sink and Donghyuck takes this chance to tap Mark’s shoulder. “Let’s practice later.”

Mark blinks, taken aback by the sudden approach. But Donghyuck looks genuine and the stubborn aura around him seemed to have lowered since yesterday’s fight. “Uh, yeah sure.” Donghyuck nods and turns back to eating his breakfast, but Mark didn’t miss the way his cheeks slightly turned pinker.

The door slides open and the pair turns to see a young man who had just woken up with the messiest bed hair. “Ah,” Taeyong says with a chuckle, “Sleeping Ugly is awake.”

Yuta rolls his eyes but smiles. “Very funny,” he says as he sits down across the kids. Nakamoto Yuta, another honorary member of the guild best known for his sniper skills. He grabs a toast and munches on it as Mark and Donghyuck stare intently at him. “W-what’s with the suspicious looks?”

“Hyung,” Donghyuck calls, “Can you train with us?”

“Huh?”

“Please?” Donghyuck continues, “You’re a pro sniper, and so is Jaemin. We’ll need all the practice we can get if we want to beat Jaemin and Jeno.”

Yuta hums. “Alright, I’ll train with you.” he says, smiling when the two cheer loudly. Johnny hushes them. “But I’m just going to say that however we train, it won’t be the same as battling with Jaemin. I hate to admit it, but Jaemin is one of the best snipers in the game right now, probably even surpassing me. You can never be sure what he’s thinking.”

Donghyuck scoffs. “He’s a snake, that’s for sure.” He comments but Taeyong immediately gives him a disapproving look. 

“Donghyuck, that’s not what we call other people.” Taeyong says and Donghyuck frowns. He doesn’t apologize, because he didn’t believe he had any reason to apologize. Na Jaemin is a snake, and he lives by that statement.

The training room is always cold when they first step into it. It takes a minute for the heat to kick in so Donghyuck rubs his shoulders as Johnny is in the control room getting the settings ready. Donghyuck turns to look at Mark who’s patiently waiting as he looks at his Neo Control Tech, or NCT, before Johnny gets the room ready.

“Now remember,” Yuta says, facing the two boys at the end of the room. “Because I’m not in the tournament this year, I’ve been bored these days, so I’m  _ not _ going easy on you two, understand?”

Johnny finishes the settings and the training room begins to translate into its virtual reality. Yuta’s sniper gun virtualizes in his hand and he disappears into the field.

Donghyuck stands still. “Fullsun, virtualize,” He calls, loading his mage staff into the game.

“A mountain terrain,” Mark comments as he examines the field. He holds his knife close in one hand, and his gun in the other. He backs up with Donghyuck who steadies himself with his mage staff. “Got a plan, Hyuck?”

“Starting off with a defense boost.” Donghyuck answers. He shines his staff with a pretty red light. It increases their health points and strengthens their defensive ability. “Next, Stealth upgrade.” This helps with their evasive abilities. Mark nods. It’s a common combination technique for Battlemages. 

The field is quiet. If they were up against Jaemin, he would’ve made the first shot already, but Yuta is different. He’s patient enough to wait for the right moment.

When the first shot came, Donghyuck was hit first. Losing a few health points is unfortunate, but it gave away Yuta’s position well enough for him to shoot a fireball in his direction. He’s up in the mountains, a typical sniper shot, and Mark takes this chance to dash around the field for an ambush. Donghyuck managed to hold Yuta’s shots down easier and distract him from his partner. 

“How are the kids doing?” Taeyong asks when he enters the control room. He leans over the chair and throws his arms around Johnny’s neck, pressing his lips against the latter’s temple. Johnny hums with content, watching as the kids have now cornered Yuta in a hand to hand combat. Taeyong whistles. “They’re really giving Yuta a good match.”

“They understand each other a little better,” Johnny says, running a hand across Taeyong’s arm. “But, it’s still not enough.” Yuta manages to find an open space and knocks Donghyuck down with a swift kick. He then proceeds to take his shot that eliminates the boy before proceeding with Mark. Johnny sighs and gets up from the seat. The match was over. 

Mark and Donghyuck groan as they sit up on the training room floor. It was back to normal and Yuta offered the both of them up. “Not bad,” He comments though it left the kids still unsatisfied. “Better than yesterday’s match. At least you two weren’t screaming at each other this time.”

Mark looks at Donghyuck, who’s looking at Yuta, and Mark turns back to the Japanese man with a smile. “That’s a start.”

Taeyong and Johnny greet them when they exit the training room. Yuta took off, commenting about how much he deserves a well rested nap and the two guild leaders just waved him away. 

“Did you know where you went wrong in the match?” Johnny asks. They had taken the two kids outside for a walk and Johnny bought them smoothies. 

Donghyuck sips his mango-peach smoothie. “Speed.” He answers and Mark nods, mouth full of his green tea smoothie. “Yuta hyung is a good sniper, but he’s just as good as hand-to-hand combat and we got too in our heads. To be honest, Mark’s speed pretty much matched his, but his power skills are much lower. For me, my stealth is higher, but my speed is lower.”

Mark bumps their shoulders. “That means we have to put in a lot more training these next two weeks.” He says and Donghyuck agrees. “Oh, and let’s develop some plans too and some new abilities! Preferably kinds that other Supports and Attackers don’t have.”

“I’ll start a plan as soon as we get back home!”

“I’ll help you!”

Taeyong smiles at the scene as he follows from behind with Johnny. He feels an arm around his waist and looks up to see Johnny smiling back down at him and for the first in a while, he was glad to hear Mark and Donghyuck shouting at each other. 

The Opening Ceremony has always been quite chaotic, yet fun in Donghyuck’s opinion. Perhaps it’s because of the fact that so many guilds have gathered in one space and it was interesting to see so many different members, both familiar and new. But the fact that they all have been trained for this very moment sends a tense shiver up Donghyuck’s spine.

“Are you nervous?” Mark whispers next to him as they’re getting ready in the dressing room with their black and red guild outfits. Donghyuck shakes his head, but the little shake in his shoulder says otherwise. Mark frowns but doesn’t say anything afterwards. 

Johnny comes over and engulfs the both of them in a tight hug. “Don’t be nervous,” he says, “it’s not like this is your first tournament.”

Mark laughs nervously. “Well, it is the first for us being alone this year.”

“You’re not alone,” Taeyong replies, patting down the sticking ends of Mark’s hair. “You have each other.”

There are knocks on the door and Johnny grins when it opens. “I was wondering when you two would come and visit us.” He says as the two leaders of New Love arrive for a quick look. 

“Well, we were thinking twice about it.” Jung Jaehyun, main leader of New Love, jokes as his hand is around the waist of Kim Doyoung, New Love’s second leader. They’re as handsome and intimidating as ever, and Donghyuck would be nervous seeing the two famous leaders up close, if it weren’t for Taeyong pulling Doyoung into a hug. 

“I should’ve bought you a fruit basket.” Taeyong says and Doyoung gives a playful eyeroll.

“Please don’t. We still haven’t finished the large one you sent us last year.” Doyoung replies. The two of them have an interesting background story, one that involves way too many fights and rivaries. 

Jaehyun takes a look at Mark and Donghyuck. “Are they your guild’s representatives for the competition?” He questions and the kids immediately stand out of respect. Johnny nods, patting their shoulders.

“Young and ready.”

Jaehyun chuckles. “Our Jaemin and Jeno are quite the same. They seem excited to be going up against you two in this competition.”

“Well,” Doyoung begins, “Jeno is. You know how competitive he gets. Especially since he suddenly started training so hard two weeks ago. It’s like something triggered him.” Mark’s ears perk up at the sudden information, and for some reason, his fists balled up at the thought of seeing Jeno on the battlefield. “Jaemin is difficult to read, on the other hand. But he does wish for a fun game.”

Donghyuck wants to speak, but Taeyong stops him. “Speaking of them, where are they?” 

Jaehyun smiles. “Come on, you two.” he says and on cue, Lee Jeno and Na Jaemin enter their room wearing their team’s outfit of white and pink. They look prestige and perfect, and Mark and Donghyuck couldn’t wait to tear them down.

The duo greets Johnny and Taeyong. They’re quite the spitting images of their guild’s leaders, but it could be said the same for Mad City too. Mark and Jeno immediately glare at each other upon eye contact and Donghyuck refuses to look at Jaemin, no matter the puppy eyes Jaemin is giving him.

“Oh Jaemin, it’s finally nice to meet you.” Taeyong says, smiling at the boy. “I’ve heard a lot about you and I’m excited to see today’s competition.”

Jaemin smiles and gives a polite bow. “It’s nice to meet you too, Guild Leader Taeyong. I’ve always watched your matches growing up and I have to say, after Jaehyun hyung, you are one of my childhood icons.” Jaemin’s words are sweet and genuine. He always is.

Taeyong smiles at his words. “I’m so flattered. I hope for a fun tournament this year.”

New Love takes their leave after their introductions when it’s time to meet with the other guilds in the main stadium, and the rest of the Mad City guild members had been waiting downstairs. Yuta starts waving when he sees the four arriving. Next to him, the guild’s top Launcher, Moon Taeil, is also excited to see them.

“Are you ready, Donghyuckie?” Taeil asks and Donghyuck immediately smiles. He’s always had a soft spot for Taeil. “Do your best and win!”

“You bet, Taeil hyung! Mark and I will win it all!”

“Eh~ so they’re the representatives for Mad City?” Someone from New Love says from the side. The members turn to see a soft looking yet very tall young man smiling at him with Jaemin and Jeno at his sides. There’s another boy next to Jaemin who Donghyuck recognizes as Park Jisung, New Love’s newest recruit who won the preliminaries in the Rookie Cup last summer. “You two are so cute! But you don’t seem to be as tough as our Nana and Nono.”

Jeno gives the man a look. “Jungwoo hyung. Be respectful.” He says.

“I’m just stating the facts, Nono.” Jungwoo shrugs and Jaemin gives a low giggle under his breath. “I came to see competition but I guess I don’t see anything worth near it now.” 

Ah, he’s the trash talker type, Donghyuck thinks. Taeyong smiles, but Donghyuck knew his Leader was trying his best to hold back a bite. He’s about to speak when Jaehyun and Doyoung beat him to it.

“Jungwoo,” Doyoung calls like a parent to a child. “That is not what we say to people. How many times have I told you to stop with that attitude.” Jungwoo pouts, but it was the kind that he isn’t apologetic about.

“I think his attitude is cute!” Another person speaks up in a loud shout before he gets pulled away by his ear. 

“You think everything about Jungwoo is cute.” Says Guild Leader Qian Kun of the Vision Guild. “Wong Yukhei, how many times have I told you not to run off?” Kun says before he smiles upon meeting everyone down on the main floor before the ceremony starts. “Hello, Doyoung and Taeyong! It’s nice to see you all again!”

“Kun!” Doyoung and Taeyong shout in unison before running to hug him. “It’s been such a long time. How is everything?” Taeyong asks. 

“Everything is well! I’m so glad we’re here! My boys are ready to take on this competition.” Kun replies with another grin.

Donghyuck watches as the rest of Vision approach them, dressed in their gold and black outfits. There’s Ten, the second leader of Vision, and then next to him is Dong Sicheng, Xiao Dejun, Huang Guanheng, Liu YangYang and of course, Wong Yukhei who’s busying himself with Jungwoo.

“I heard a pretty voice, and I knew it was you.” Yukhei says, smiling as Jungwoo giggles at his comment.

“Funny and cute, always a charmer, Wong Yukhei.” There was absolutely no room for Jesus between them.

Donghyuck’s attention turns back to Taeyong. “Who’s representing Vision?” He asks the Guild Leader and there’s a confident smirk on Kun’s lips when two boys step up beside him.

Donghyuck stares at the Vision representatives. Zhong Chenle, a pro Gunpointer and–

“Lee Donghyuck!” Huang Renjun dashes into Donghyuck a hug, spinning him around. “It’s been such a long time!”

Donghyuck is just as excited as Renjun. They’ve been long time good friends who bonded over Neo Tech but Donghyuck has not seen the boy ever since he went to China to train in Vision almost five years ago. It’s amazing they’ve met up in this competition as two different guild reps.

“I missed you!” Renjun cried. “I’m so sad we’re competing but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you!”

“Your ass better not!” Donghyuck replies back. “You’re the only competition I have here!” He says loud enough for a certain Na Jaemin to hear.

“Renjun.” Kun calls and Renjun immediately reacts, letting go of Donghyuck with a smile before going back to his Leader’s side. The first bell signal goes off and Kun smiles. “Sorry to cut it short, but the ceremony is starting.”

Vision and New Love begin to follow out into the main stadium and Mad City follows after. The audience cheers loudly when seeing the numerous Guilds appear and if it were not for Mark holding Donghyuck’s hand, he would’ve felt the nervous beat of his heart.

The host begins to introduce all the guilds, and the selective representatives begin to stand on the stage. “Lee Mark and Lee Donghyuck, representing Mad City!” A crowd cheers after their names as the two went on stage. Donghyuck followed Mark, who stops to stand next to the girl from the Everglow Guild. 

“Representing New Love, it’s Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno!” The crowd is even louder. It’s their golden boys after all. Jaemin walks next to Donghyuck, flashing him a soft smile before turning to the crowd. 

“And representing Vision, Huang Renjun and Zhong Chenle!” 

Yukhei screams from the team as the two boys walk up on stage. Renjun catches the interaction between Donghyuck and Jaemin, but he doesn’t question anything. 

After the final introduction, there’s a final applause and the Opening Ceremony begins with its first Challenge. “A balloon pop challenge?” Donghyuck reads from the screen. The opening challenge isn’t part of the main tournament, but rather just a warmup appetizer. The team who pops the most balloons is awarded points for first, second, and third place.

“A challenge is a challenge.” Jeno says, smiling as he takes Jaemin’s hand. “Let’s just aim for first place, babe.”

Jaemin smiles back. “Of course. I wouldn’t want it any other way.” He turns to Donghyuck. “Good luck, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck doesn’t answer back. He feels a nudge from Mark whose eyes calm him down before he thinks about doing anything reckless. He’d get an earful from Johnny anyway. “Let’s go.” Mark says and Donghyuck nods, feeling Mark’s hand in his own as they walk to their spot.

All the contestants are fairly apart from one another but Donghyuck could see Renjun from his place. He smiles at the boy who looks as focused as ever, the giddy look he had was replaced by burning eyes. 

The countdown started the challenge and the balloons appeared in the stadium. They’re virtual targets which makes it different from popping a normal balloon. Once the countdown hit zero, Renjun disappeared.

Taeyong’s eyes widened as the screen showed Renjun and Chenle’s immediate twenty points. Johnny almost falls off his chair with the same reaction. 

Renjun, Vision’s Launcher, aimed at the balloons with small shurikens, and Chenle was easily taking points as the Gunpointer. The duo’s speed is almost invisible as their points get larger and larger. Taeyong looks over at the Vision Guild in the audience and he sees the proud smirk on Kun’s lips. 

“So this is what you’ve been hiding.” Doyoung says to Kun from his spot.

Kun folds his arms. “Vision is a guild of eyes. We’re the eyes behind the back of each other’s heads and we only focus on what’s ahead of us. Renjun and Chenle are our youngest pair of eyes and they still have more potential to become even greater. Last year, it was unfortunate that New Love had taken the trophy, but this year is going to be different.” The Vision members smirk and turn to look at Mad City and New Love, “we’ll be taking the win.”

Johnny holds his own smirk, but Taeyong could tell that even he was intimidated. “We’ll see about that.”

Donghyuck’s jolting fireballs at the balloons as Mark starts to blast them down with his guns. They were fighting between third and fourth place with the District Nine guild, Hwang Hyunjin, a pro Slayer, and Kim Seungmin, a high class Enchanter. 

“This is getting ridiculous.” Donghyuck grunts, annoyed. He slams his staff down and creates a circle of energy that blasts more than a handful of balloons, gaining his points. Mark follows as he begins to shoot multiple down at once. They take over second place, just above Vision. 

Renjun stops to look at Donghyuck as they take their spot. “Not bad, Hyuckie.” He says and Donghyuck smirks.

“Not bad yourself, Junnie.”

Johnny smiles as he watches their boys continue the first challenger. However, it’s not time to let down their guard yet, as first place had not changed their spot at all.

Kun hums. “It seems Renjun and Chenle have not trained enough.”

“No,” Ten answers next to their leader, “they trained just right. It’s the first place whose skills are far higher than ours.” They turn to look at Jaehyun and Doyoung who had not batted a single concerned look at the competition as they watch Jeno take another hundred points and Jaemin with two hundred points.

“Those two are probably the top players in Neo Tech right now.” Yuta says as he watches the two New Love representatives. “Na Jaemin, pro Sniper. His abilities are above even the senior players. The boy could practically aim in his sleep. Lee Jeno, pro Damager. His brawling skills are unmatchable. He’s trained to the point he can easily face a Gunpointer or a Slayer.” He looks at the New Love leaders with such surprised eyes. “Just where did you even recruit these boys?”

Jaehyun smirks as he and Doyoung stand with such a superior aura. “We are New Love.” Jaehyun says proudly, spreading his arms. “We are the power players, the top players. We are built for Neo Tech, and anyone would be damned when they face New Love.” 

Donghyuck was out of breath when the challenge ended. He walks over to Mark who is just as breathless as he is. He stands by the older boy and waits with him for the final scores to screen. “You’re not tired already, are you, Canada?” Donghyuck teases, a beat of sweat falling down his cheek as Mark chuckles. 

“As if.” Mark answers, standing tall as they turn to look at the screen. The scores were in and Donghyuck held his breath. He and Mark did well. It wasn’t quite the ideal teamwork challenge but they did well and they looked after each other.

Third place.

They placed third in the first challenge. Vision placed second, and New Love didn’t move from first at all. Donghyuck turns to look at Jeno and Jaemin hugging in victory, and Donghyuck holds back a tear. This isn’t what he pictured. He didn’t picture Jaemin jumping up and down. He should be below him, crying about second place and– 

“Hyuck.”

Donghyuck stops his thoughts and looks at Mark. His eyes didn’t look discouraged. No, the fire still burned in his eyes. “Come on, we have to get back on stage.” He takes his hand and squeezes it. Donghyuck calms down and follows him.

Jaemin and Jeno receive their prize, an advantage for the next two days’ challenges. They shake the other players’ hands, praising them for a fun first challenge until Jaemin is in front of Donghyuck. “Nice game, Hyuck.” Jaemin says, stretching out his hand only to have it empty in the air. Jeno doesn’t even bother shaking Mark’s waiting hand as he passes by him.

Donghyuck grunts. “Don’t get cozy yet.” He hisses, leaving the stage as Mark follows him. He thought he had held his tears well enough but when he saw Taeyong and Johnny waiting for them inside, Donghyuck couldn’t help but run into their arms and cry right there.

“Baby, it’s okay.” Taeyong says, running his hands through the back of Donghyuck’s hair as Johnny also hugs the both of them, but not before pulling Mark in as well. 

“You both did well.” Johnny tells the two, smiling at Mark. “third place isn’t bad. You still get some points.”

“Yeah, we know.” Mark says. “But still, first place would’ve been nice.”

Taeyong chuckles. “Well then make sure you get first place tomorrow and the final day.” He says, reaching out for a fist bump that Mark gladly accepts. 

“Hyuckie!” 

Donghyuck hears Renjun shout as he detaches himself from the group hug to see Renjun running towards him and pulling him into a tight hug. “You did great out there! Aw, don’t cry,” He says as he wipes the boy’s tears. “You did amazing, third place is still good!”

Donghyuck chuckles. “Thanks, Junnie.” He says and from the side he can see Chenle smiling at them as well. “You two did amazing too. I can’t believe how much you improved. I could hardly see you running around earlier.”

Renjun smiles. “We trained a lot in Vision.” He says as his guild members approach them. “Second place is fun, but I’m not in love with it. We’re going to go for first place, even if it means facing you, Donghyuck.”

“Well, be ready because Mark and I will fight for the first place too.” 

_ And take Na Jaemin down.  _

“Eh? I’d like to see you try to bring down our Nana and Nono.” Jungwoo’s voice says from the side with Jaemin and Jeno next to him. The way he smiles so angelically does not fit the toxicity of his words. “Besides, third place looks great on you two.”

“Jungwoo.” Doyoung’s voice cuts him. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jungwoo shrugs, folding his hands behind his head nonchalantly. “I’ll be in the hotel room if you want to find me.” He says, strolling away but not before sending Yukhei a flirty wink that definitely perked his eyes.

Doyoung sighs as Jungwoo leaves. “I’m so sorry about him. He may be a great player, but his attitude is tough to handle sometimes.” He informs. “But aside from that, congrats on third place, Donghyuck and Mark. You two did well.” He turns to Vision. “And also Renjun and Chenle.”

Kun smiles with a polite bow. “Your praise is appreciated.” He says as Renjun and Chenle stand beside him. “Congratulations to your representatives as well. I’ve never seen anyone play as sharp as Jeno and Jaemin.”

Jaemin smiles at the compliment, though it isn’t his usual bright grin as he sees Donghyuck not giving him even the tiniest bit of attention. “Thank you, guild leader Kun.” He says with a bow. “Renjun and Chenle played amazing as well. I’m sure that not only Jeno and I can learn from them, but also our Jisung, our newest Gunpointer, can learn from them.”

Chenle’s ears perk up. “Oh! Jisung, that’s the cute boy I was talking about earlier.” He says, tugging on Kun’s sleeve. “The boy who got lost on the way to the restrooms.”

Jaehyun chuckles as the said boy was hiding behind Doyoung with reddened cheeks. “That sounds like our Jisung,” He says and the boy groans, earning another laugh from his guild leaders. “Come on, don’t be shy. Say hello to Chenle.”

Jisung reluctantly reveals himself from behind Doyoung and bows his head at the guild leaders before looking at Chenle. “I’m Jisung.”

Chenle grins. “You’re still cute.” He comments and Jisung hides behind Doyoung again.

“Sorry about him.” Doyoung says as he holds back a laugh. “He’s a little shy but with time he’ll start to warm up. I think we should get back to our hotel rooms and rest, especially Jeno and Jaemin. You two have big days coming up.”

Jaemin nods. “We’ll be going. See you, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck huffs and Jaemin smiles softly before New Love leaves. The Vision guild follows only, they find something is missing. “Where’s Yukhei?” Sicheng asks and Xiaojun, Guanheng and YangYang blink at the question. Sicheng sighs. “Don’t tell me.”

“Leave him.” Ten speaks up. “He’s a big boy. He’ll come back to the hotel on his own later.”

Kun chuckles. “Always with the tough love.” He says and Ten rolls his eyes before he orders his guild to return to their hotel rooms. Kun smiles and bids Mad City their farewell.

“Come on,” Johnny pats Mark and Donghyuck’s shoulders. “We’re lucky we don’t have to stay in a hotel. Let’s go back home.”

“Hey,” Mark calls when he knocks on Donghyuck’s room. He walks in when he gets a look from the younger. “What are you doing?” Donghyuck is watching the rerun of today’s challenge as Mark sits down on the floor next to him. He watches as Donghyuck pauses screen by screen, examining the other players and scribbling down notes in his little notebook. “What are you writing?”

“Notes on the other players.” Donghyuck answers as he clicks his pen. “District Nine was our first threat today.” They placed fourth after Vision, but even so, they were fighting back and forth with Mad City. 

Hwang Hyunjin, pro Slayer, has both high speed and high power. He wields the Levanter Blade, one of the strongest and hardest blades to achieve in Neo Tech, yet, he used it so easily during the balloon challenge. His partner was Kim Seungmin, high class Enchanter. He was able to boost the power of Levanter and has strong energy manipulation abilities.

“They are unbalanced.” Mark listens to Donghyuck say. “They focus too much on power and they don’t seem to pay attention to their surroundings that well. I saw them miss a lot of the higher points worth balloons.”

“How about the Wonderland Guild?” Mark asks.

Choi San and Jung Wooyoung of the Wonderland Guild, a Damager and a Slayer respectively. They placed fifth in today’s challenge. “I wouldn’t say they’d be a big problem for us.” Donghyuck answers. “But they’re skills are noteworthy.”

Next were the girls from the Everglow Guild, Kim Sihyeon, a battlemage, and Wang Yiren, a Launcher. Not quite a problem either. The same goes for the rest of the list except first and third place.

“I’ve known Renjun since we were kids.” Donghyuck says. He’s settled onto Mark’s shoulder, placing his notebook on top of the older’s thigh. “He’s a pro Launcher, and specializes in archery and shurikens. He’s not the best at hand to hand combat but that could’ve changed when he entered Vision. Zhong Chenle is also strong. He’s a Gunpointer like you, but unlike you, he can pass off as a Sniper as well. His eyesight is sharp, well, all of Vision is.”

Mark hums, nodding along as he listens to Donghyuck’s analysis. “And last we have New Love.” He chuckles when Donghyuck groans. “You were going to have to analyze them at some point.”

Donghyuck huffs. “Lee Jeno, pro Damager. In the lack of words, that kid is built like a  _ beast _ . He’s been training since he was like ten and he can easily face off any Gunpointer or Slayer without any weapon for his own. Even Vision’s Wong Yukhei took a strong beating from him two Summer Cup’s ago.”

“And Na Jaemin?”

“A snake.”

Mark chuckles. “Hyuck, be serious.” He says, reaching to fold the page of Donghyuck’s notebook. They met hands and Mark ran a thumb over Donghyuck’s wrist. 

The younger boy sighs. “Na Jaemin, pro Sniper. In the beginning, he could’ve barely held his gun, and he cried every time he made a kill. But after joining New Love, he’s improved.”

“If I may ask, what happened between you two?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

Donghyuck sighs and closes his book before resuming the match on the television. It was Jaemin taking out the balloons with his grin to the cameras. He didn’t cry from the pressure of his gun anymore. He loved his position, and he loved the game. Donghyuck wanted to roll his eyes.

_ “You’re a liar! You faked everything, didn’t you? You cheated! How could someone like you possibly be able to have a kill on me? Impossible! You planned this all along, didn’t you? You used me because you know I was better!” _

_ “Hyuck, that’s not true–” _

_ “You’re a liar!” _

Jaemin was still smiling on screen when he took first place as Jeno proudly stood next to him, staring at no one but at Jaemin. 

“They’re perfect.” Donghyuck whispers under his breath. 

Mark stares at the younger boy quietly as he watches the screen. Donghyuck’s head was on his shoulder and he seemed too tired from today’s match with eyes that seemed like they were about to fall asleep at any moment. Donghyuck looks and feels so soft and when he snuggles onto Mark’s shoulder, his heart does a small thing. 

“Hm, that’s about it for the other contestants.” Donghyuck says, eyes shifting over to Mark. He raises a brow in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mark blinks. “Nothing.” But he keeps staring at Donghyuck and the boy stares back. It doesn’t take long for Mark to suddenly lean in slowly and Donghyuck begins to blink with such confusion until they are interrupted by the knocks on the door. The two turns to see Yuta standing there, luckily with his eyes glued to his phone. 

“Johnny says dinner is ready.” Yuta says and leaves just like that.

Mark binks and turns back to Donghyuck. They’re still in the same position with little to no space between them until Mark starts to lean back. Donghyuck is still confused. “Um,” Mark speaks, “I’m going to go eat dinner.”

Donghyuck doesn’t reply. He just watches Mark leave his room. 

What the heck just happened?

The second tournament is a relay race. Donghyuck examines the arena, a town theme, and he wonders if Mark is getting ready as the first runner. At first Donghyuck offered as first runner, but when Mark heard that Jeno is the first runner with Jaemin as second, something in Mark’s chest burns up at the thought of competing with Jeno.

“I hate that kid’s attitude.” Mark said in their waiting room. Jeno has this arrogant aura around him and it annoys him, like he acts as if he’s superior compared to them. “It’s frustrating.” Mark voiced out and Donghyuck silently agreed. He let Mark clear his thoughts, everything about Jeno. “Hyuck,” Mark calls and the boy looks at him. “I’ll outrun Jeno in the first half, and then you’ll win against Jaemin, promise?”

Donghyuck took in his words and nods. He liked this side of Mark, the confident, strong type. Mark stretches a hand for Donghyuck to hold which the latter gladly accepts. His hand was warm, and Donghyuck perhaps liked holding Mark’s hand.

The race is about to start in any second and the first runners are preparing their stretches. Mark is next to Jeno, who’s calming his breath and relaxing his body. He’s far done with stretching and he seems to be mumbling to himself. “This is for you, Jaemin.” Mark hears Jeno whisper under his breath before he turns to look at the former. “Stare all you want, just don’t get in my way.”

Mark glares with an annoyed huff but Jeno is unfazed as he gets in his running position. Holding the baton in his grip and making sure he’s held it tight, Mark copies his pose as they let the countdown begin. 

Once it hit zero, they both started off like the wind. Mark can’t remember the last time he ran like this. There’s not enough space back in their guild to run this much; he felt free. He felt his lungs catching the air and he felt his legs flying throughout the town. He ran and ran, loving the feeling of sprinting as fast as he can, like he has no fear in anything.

“Mark,” Taeyong says under his breath at the sidelines. Johnny turns to look at him and he sees the soft smile on Taeeyong’s lips. “He’s sure grown a lot.” Johnny copies the same smile, looking at their representative running in first place. 

“Well, he’s got great parents.” Johnny says and Taeyong raises a brow.

“They’re not our kids?”

“They kinda are.”

Taeyong chuckles. “Yeah.”

Mark runs into the first obstacle. He knew this isn’t some normal relay race. This is Neo Tech, a game where you always need to be on your feet. A spawn of robots marched in front of his track, and if Johnny taught him anything, it’s to prepare for anything. “Mad Dog and Cherry Bomb, virtualize!” He calls his two pistol guns and aims it at the robots. 

The two weapons were a gift from Taeyong when he first entered the guild. And they are Mark’s precious babies, letting each hit land successfully. “Fuck yeah!” He yells after creating a pathway and running through it.

However, behind him real close is Jeno. Mark isn’t surprised, he knew Jeno had been right behind him all along after he crashed through the first set of robots, landing successful punches and kicks on the next set, and finally jumping over the heads of the rest before continuing to run behind Mark.

“As if I’d let you pass me,” Mark grunts, turning around the aim at Jeno’s feet. The first two hits land him off balance and it was the first time Mark had ever seen such a shocked expression from the younger. 

Jeno regains his balance and hisses at Mark. “You asshole,” He calls but Mark doesn’t care. He’s not cheating. There aren’t rules that say they can’t use their weapons. This is Neo Tech after all, they’re allowed to use any weapon or strategy as long as they don’t physically harm anyone. 

Jeno picks up his speed, now being able to easily dodge Mark’s shots. The older boy tsked, “Mad Dog, Cherry Bomb, retreat,” He says and his pair of guns devirtualize. Jeno is catching up and judging from his very angry expression, he doesn’t seem too happy.

“Boom, 119, virtualize!” Jeno orders and a pair of steel gauntlets cover his fists. “You’re in for it now, Mark Lee!” He yells when he close enough and swings a punch that Mark barely dodges. He hits the ground, creating a large crater underneath him as Mark luckily jumps away in time, but the ground is shaking even after Jeno had punched it.

In the audience, Yuta’s eyes almost popped out his sockets at the scene as he grabbed onto the bars in front of him. “Just how strong did you train that kid?!” He says to Jaehyun who’s smirking proudly. 

“Jeno is quite the fighter.” Doyoung answers instead. “He works hard in everything he does, and he works harder when it’s for someone he cares about.” He says, eye shifting to the screen of the second runners where Jaemin is waiting patiently.

_ Jeno is built like a beast _ , Mark remembers Donghyuck telling him.  _ Jesus, he’s not wrong _ , Jeno is pretty much an overpowered beast. They continue to battle it out as they run, hoping one little thing can catch either of them unbalanced, until something does, but not from them. 

A gust of small shurikens aim at their feet and as both of them manage to jump out in time, the shurikens suddenly begin to release a smoke of gas and both Mark and Jeno falter their run as they cover their face with coughs.

“Who–” 

It’s Renjun, who smirks down at them. He hadn’t been behind them, in fact, he had been running through on top of the buildings where there is less blockage and contestants. Renjun let out a couple more shurikens, this time when they hit the ground, it covered the concrete in ice. 

“I’ll be going ahead first,” Renjun says as he takes off just as fast as he arrived, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with such ease.

Jaehyun and Doyoung turn to look at Kun and Ten who are now the ones smirking. “Renjun has never been a strong fighter.” Kun says. “He’s quite small but that never underestimated him. He’s one of the fastest runners in Vision, and sometimes well, he likes to play dirty.”

Johnny chuckles. “Well, we know where he’s got that trait from.” He says and Ten chuckles.

“Guilty as charged.” The Thai man says.

Mark almost slips on the ice. Nothing in his training has ever prepared him for this, and it seems like the same could be said to Jeno who’s also struggling as he tries to run on the slippery surface. Behind them, the rest of the other guilds seem to be catching up and Mark feels the panicked feeling in his chest.

“Ugh, this is annoying.” Jeno suddenly comes to a halt and slams his fist into the ice, breaking the ground easily as broken icicles fly the air. He punches the frozen pieces backwards, hitting them against the contestants and one of them lands on Hyunjin that catches him off balance.

Mark takes his opportunity to keep running. He reckons Renjun must have already been close to the second runners, and he needs to close that gap. Jeno follows right behind. He keeps running and running, charging ahead with the robots and facing other obstacles as he only pictures Donghyuck waiting for him.

_ Come on Mark, you can do it _ , Donghyuck bites his bottom lip as he stares off into the distance. He didn’t realize how long it’d take for the first runners to arrive and he certainly didn’t expect Renjun of all people to arrive first. 

“Chenle!” Renjun yells, stretching his arm out with the baton. 

Chenle takes it into his hand and darts off as fast as he can but not before he says to Donghyuck and Jaemin, “see you two at the finish line!” He laughs until he’s out of sight. 

Mark and Jeno are now in their vision, running neck to neck with each other. Jaemin turns to smile at Donghyuck. “Good luck, Donghyuck.” He says and Donghyuck ignores him. 

Mark is getting closer and closer and Donghyuck cheers him on. Jeno hands Jaemin the baton first but Donghyuck receives his baton not a second later as they run off. Mark and Jeno pant, trying to find their breaths. Mark sticks out his hand for a shake. “Nice run,” He says but Jeno slaps his hand away.

“Don’t talk to me.” Jeno growls.

Mark glares, his last friendly straw finally snapping as he grabs the neckline of Jeno’s shirt. “The hell is with your attitude?!” He shouts. “You got a problem with me or something?!”

“Yeah, I got huge fucking problem with you!” Jeno shouts back and things could’ve gotten really serious had the announcer didn’t use a whistle as a warning for the two contestants. Jeno huffs as he throws Mark’s hands off, fixing his shirt before leaving the tracks, leaving Mark there with balled fists and a raging expression.

Jaehyun sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “I told that boy to control his emotions.” He says and Doyoung smiles bitterly.

“Kind of reminds me of you and Johnny back in the day, doesn’t it?” Doyoung says, bumping his hands with Jaehyun’s. 

Jaehyun chuckles and takes Doyoung’s hand into his. “Yeah, unfortunately.”

Donghyuck can see Chenle in front of him. The Vision member is only a tiny dot, but at least he’s in his sight.  _ Time to close the gap, _ Donghyuck says. “Fullsun, virtualize!” His mage staff appears and he gins to shoot fireballs at Chenle’s direction. He aims at Chenle’s baton, hoping to knock it out of his grip and buy him some time.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Chenle whines when Donghyuck is beginning to catch up to him. “Dunk Shot, virtualize!” The boy loads his rocket launcher gun that seems to be half his own size and he gives a cackling laughter as he lets out the first shot. “Fire!” Chenle yells as a football sized rocket aims at Donghyuck.

“Shield!” Donghyuck calls, easily blocking Chenle’s shot and the Vision boy pouts.

“You’re no fair!”

“Life’s not fair,” Donghyuck teases as he overtakes the boy at first. But he’s not relaxed yet, because a certain Na Jaemin is right behind him. He wonders what kind of trick Jaemin could pull off, considering his sniper skills won’t help in this situation. He looks back for a quick second that he immediately regrets.

Jaemin’s face is calm, graceful in fact, running with his pink hair pushed back by the wind and a determined look in his eyes. “Firefly, visualize.” Jaemin calls gently, loading a pistol gun. He leaps into the air and aims it at Donghyuck’s baton, successfully shooting it out of his hand painlessly. 

Donghyuck curses. He forgot that a Sniper like Jaemin can easily take a Gunpointer’s position and skill. He watches his baton roll away but before Jaemin could pass him, Donghyuck aimed a fireball at the younger boy, knocking the baton out of his hand as well. 

“No!” Jaemin shouts, his expression finally faltering, running out off course to grab the rolling baton as Donghyuck does the same. They both grabbed their respective batons at the same time and ran back to the track. 

The finish line is at their sight and it came down to the two of them. Or at least, that’s what they thought.

“Fire!” Chenle shouts from behind and a missile lands just underneath Donghyuck and Jaemin’s legs, blasting them into the air and dropping their batons once more. Jaemin struggles to get up from the ground, panicking as he frantically searches for his baton. “No, no, no!” He chants as he looks around. He found it at last, but it was too late. 

Chenle overtakes their path and lands in first place, and Donghyuck comes in second, which leaves Jaemin in third. The Vision guild comes running down in cheers, throwing Renjun and Chenle up in the air as they wave their gold medals in the air. 

Donghyuck watches as Jaemin falls to his knees after he passes the finish line. His facial expression looks broken, as if he can’t believe he came in third. Donghyuck wants to feel triumphant, like he finally won something he’s been chasing after all his life. But when he sees Jaemin breaking down in tears, he couldn’t bring himself to feel like a winner.

He walks towards the New Love member with careful steps. “Jaemin,” Donghyuck calls such a soft tone that he never expected he had ever spoken in towards Jaemin. He reaches his hand out. “Nice game.” 

Jaemin stares at Donghyuck with crying eyes. He couldn’t stop crying and it reminded Donghyuck of their childhood days when Jaemin couldn’t even hold his gun.

Donghyuck didn’t know what he was expecting. But he surely didn’t expect Jaemin to slap his hand out of his face with an angry growl. “Get the hell away from me!” Jaemin cries. He stands up from his spot and Donghyuck’s widened eyes watches Jaemin’s face, his ever smiling face, turn into nothing but rage and hate. 

Jeno runs fast from the side, hugging Jaemin and facing him away from Donghyuck. “Jaemin, Jaemin! Baby, it’s me.” Jeno says sweetly, caressing Jaemin’s face with his hands. “Baby, breathe in and out, in and out, that’s it, just like that.” He hugs the boy into his arms, letting him cry into his shoulder. 

“Hyuck!” Donghyuck hears Mark call as he runs over to him and smiles at Donghyuck with that signature cute boyish smile. “You did it! We got second place!” 

Donghyuck tries to smile at Mark’s excitement, but he turns back to Jaemin who’s still sobbing. Mark notices his concerned look and cautiously approaches the couple. “Hey, it was a nice race.” Mark says. He still doesn’t like Jeno, but Johnny always taught him to be a respectful player. 

However, Jeno did not react the same. “Don’t touch me.” He growls, holding Jaemin tighter. 

Mark feels like he should be mad. But he doesn’t even feel the least, because Jeno and Jaemin look so hurt that it’s more than just getting third place. “Look,” Mark says, “There’s no need for us to be enemies. We’re in Neo Tech just as much as you guys are. We can at least be friends.”

“No.” Jaemin speaks this time, now calmed down from his cries. He looks at Mark and then at Donghyuck. “We could  _ never _ be friends.” They’re both glaring at them now and Mark has an urge to protect Donghyuck. 

“Hey, there’s no need for violence.” Mark says.

Jeno scoffs and walks over to pull Mark into his grip by his shirt.“You should’ve said that during the race when you grabbed me first.” He says, eyes burning into Mark’s own. 

Something in Mark snaps and soon he’s grabbing Jeno by his shirt as well. “Are you asking for a fight?”

“Depends if you’re up for one.” 

“Mark, no!” Donghyuck wants them to stop, but Jaemin pays them no attention as he’s still glaring at Donghyuck. 

“What the hell are you guys doing?!” Jaehyun’s voice roars through the hall. Both he and Johnny are running towards the two fighting boys, ripping them apart from each other. “Jeno! Jeno, calm your damn emotions!” He shouts as Jeno struggles in his arms whilst Mark struggles in Johnny’s.

“I can’t!” Jeno shouts back just as loudly. “I can’t whenever I see his face! Just his face aggravates me!” 

“I don’t _ care _ what aggravates you!” Jaehyun roars again. “I’m warning you to calm down or I will  _ personally _ disqualify both you and Jaemin from the tournament!” His words make both Jeno and Jaemin gasp and the former starts to finally calm down his anger into just balled fists.

Johnny sighs when Mark calmed down as well. “Let’s call it day.” He says as Taeyong hugs Donghyuck. “I apologize for the trouble.” Johnny says to Jaehyun and Doyoung who disagree.

“No, we should be the ones apologizing.” Doyoung says as he holds onto Jaemin. “They’ve always been quite the hotheads and it’s not the first time they started fights. We are sorry about them.” 

Donghyuck doesn’t know who’s truly wrong in this situation. Was it Jeno, who tried to fight Mark? Or was it Mark who provoked Jeno first during the race? He doesn’t know. What he does know is that Jaemin has not stopped staring at him the whole time.

“If you have something to say, say it.” Donghyuck says to him.

Jaemin blinks slowly and says, “I have nothing to say to you.” 

Dinner was silent. Donghyuck had no appetite; he just kept rolling the meatball on his plate back and forth with his fork. “Donghyuck, please don’t play with your food,” Taeyong pleads with a gentle voice. Donghyuck listens and complies, but he couldn’t bring himself to finish it.

“Thank you for dinner.” Donghyuck says, pushing his seat so he can exit the dinner table. The others watch him leave down the hall and disappear at the corner to his room. He falls onto his bed, an image of Jaemin crying flashing through his mind. What had he been crying about? Surely, it’s not just about third place. 

Something in Donghyuck broke when Jaemin started crying. The always smiling and bright Na Jaemin, reduced to a pool of tears– it doesn’t make sense. Jaemin crying remembered him from when they were little, when Jaemin didn’t know anything about Neo Tech. When would watch Donghyuck’s youth matches and always ask if he can play along when he couldn’t even hold a gun.

Donghyuck stares out his window. The moon is shining brightly, letting a pretty light flow into his unlit room. “Tomorrow’s the final match.” He says to himself. Thinking back to today’s match, he didn’t realize how difficult this tournament is. Other guild members like Jaemin and Jeno, Renjun and Chenle, they all trained for this moment, they all are fighting to win. 

This isn’t about Mark and him being the top players in the world anymore, this is the real game where statuses barely matter. What he and Mark have cannot compete with what Jaemin and Jeno have, or what Renjun and Chenle have. The world is a lot tougher than he imagined.

The river isn’t hitting the dock as hard anymore. It’s calm and it brought a nice breeze along with it as Donghyuck walked along the sidewalk, stuffing his hands into his hoodie.

He walks towards the benches, and there, he spots Jaemin standing by the railing bars, staring into the distance. He looks tired and his eyes are puffy. 

Donghyuck swallows hard and breaks the silence first. “What are you doing here?” He asks but Jaemin doesn’t turn to him.

“Just thinking.” Jaemin answers, his voice nonchalant. 

“Oh.” Donghyuck doesn’t know how else to follow up the conversation.

So Jaemin does instead. “Why do you hate me so much?” He asks and Donghyuck physically freezes in his place. Does he hate Jaemin? Why does he hate Jaemin so? What has Jaemin done to him that Donghyuck can’t stand him? He can’t remember why he gets mad whenever anyone mentions his name. He guesses it’s because when you dislike something for so long, you tend to forget the reason why in the first place.

Jaemin chuckles when there’s no answer. “I’ve done nothing but look up to you since we were kids.” He says, now turning to look at Donghyuck. There’s a cold feeling in Jaemin’s eyes. He looks at Donghyuck as if he had taken the sunshine from him. 

“Ever since we were young, I thought you were the coolest whenever you talked about Neo Tech.” Jaemin continues. “I didn’t have any other friends but you always invited me to watch the matches together and you loved to take notes about battling techniques and tell me all about it even though I had no idea how to play the game. And then when you were finally old enough to play, I always cheered for you whether you won or not. I think it was because I cherished our friendship more than the game itself. Seeing you play with so much fun made me happy to watch you play.”

Donghyuck listens to Jaemin’s confession, playing back memories in his mind like a movie. Jaemin was so adorable when he was younger. He stuck to Donghyuck like a younger brother and he cheered for him like he was his fanclub. He wondered what went wrong. 

“I realized you never accepted me as a friend.” Jaemin says. “I didn’t know how to play Neo Tech, and I got bullied because of it. We were partners in matches together because you didn’t have anyone else to pair up with, but we never won any of those matches together, and in single matches I could never beat you, because I wasn’t good enough. Hell, I could barely hold the gun without crying. I thought perhaps you would teach me how to play, how to become better, how to become  _ like you... _ but you didn’t. Do you remember what you said to me, Donghyuck?”

_ Please, don’t say it.  _ Donghyuck remembers. 

“You called me useless, a crybaby. You told me I would never be good in Neo Tech. and you said it was embarrassing to be paired up with me. And after that, you just never spoke to me again. You moved away, and joined other guilds and teams, and I was left behind. I didn’t blame you. You loved Neo Tech and I was in your way. I was never good enough. But I thought, maybe if I did train, practice more and learn more about the game, I’d become good. So I did. I joined New Love through numerous challenges until Jaehyun and Doyoung hyung finally accepted me into the guild. And I met Jeno who was more than glad to train with me and help me play Neo Tech. And then I dreamt that when we meet again, you would play with me again, that you would be surprised and praise me on how well I improved.” 

“The Winter Games…” Donghyuck breathes out. 

Jaemin smiles. “We met at the Winter Games after so many years. I missed you so much and I almost didn’t recognize you that time. You grew a lot and you even lost your baby fat. I thought, ‘yes, I’ll finally see my best friend again,’ but turns out, you didn’t like the fact that I improved. You were  _ mad _ that I beat you in the Winter Games. How could someone like  _ me  _ defeat  _ you _ ? You called me a cheater, a fake. You accused me of using you for your battling strategies. You called me a  _ snake _ .”

Donghyuck swallows. His eyes were getting teary.

“All I wanted was to play a match with you again. As your partner, as your  _ friend _ . I wanted to show you that I worked my ass off for this damn game. Hell, I don’t even care about this game. All I wanted was some kind of approval from you.” Jaemin scoffs, his eyes now icy cold. “Now that I think about it, why  _ did _ I want approval from you anyway? What did you have that I didn’t? Why would I want approval for someone who is now  _ below me _ ? But I do have to thank you, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I am the top player in Neo Tech. It’s me and Jeno. I don’t need anything from you anymore. Hate me as much as you want. We’ll settle everything in tomorrow’s final match.” Jaemin finally finishes and begins walking past Donghyuck to leave but not before saying, “A snake? What a coincidence that a snake is our guild’s symbol. We’ll show you what New Love can do.”

Jaemin left and Donghyuck doesn’t break down crying just yet. He reaches home where Mark had been sitting on the couch and the older smiles when Donghyuck enters the living room but it drops immediately when the first teardrop falls. “Hyuck,” Mark shoots up from his seat, running to Donghyuck as the latter falls to his knees in tears. “Hyuck what happened? Did you meet Jaemin again? Was Jeno there? Did he hurt you?”

Donghyuck shakes his head and cries into Mark’s shoulder. Hearing the noise, Taeyong, Johnny, Taeil, and Yuta come out of their rooms with eyes full of concern and confusion. Johnny is about to speak but Taeyong stops him and Mark shakes his head. “Come on, Hyuck, let’s go to your room.”

“No,” Donghyuck pleads, holding onto Mark’s biceps. “Can we go to your room, please?” Mark doesn’t argue back.

They sit face to face on Mark’s bed in silence. His room is much messier than Donghyuck and he wishes he would have cleaned up a little bit before bringing the younger boy here. 

Donghyuck had started to finally calm down, now staring blankly at his hands that Mark was holding in his. “You’re...you’re not hurt, are you?” Mark asks and Donghyuck shakes his head with a sniffle.

“Quite the opposite actually.” Donghyuck speaks. “Turns out the reason why Jaemin is such an asshole is because of me. Because I didn’t treat him well enough when we were kids and he thinks I have a huge hatred for him. Which I did but...not anymore. No, I don’t think I ever hated him. I was too blind in my own emotions to realize that Jaemin was nothing but a true friend to me, and I ruined it.” He’s beginning to cry again. “Mark,  _ I’m  _ the wrong one here. I never meant to hurt him like that.”

Mark brings Donghyuck into a hug. “Shhh, shhh, it’s okay.” He says, running a hand up and down Donghyuck’s back as the younger shifts to wrap his arm around Mark’s neck. “The past is the past now, Hyuck. It doesn’t define who you are now, or who will become in the future.”

“But Mark,” Donghyuck cries, “I hurt Jaemin. I’m a horrible person.”

“No, you’re not. Hey, look at me.” Mark says and caresses Donghyuck’s cheeks so that they’re staring into each other’s eyes. “You’re not a horrible person. You made mistakes but so does everything. Jaemin can hold onto his grudge for however long he wants, but you, you need to accept your mistakes but also grow from it. Take the high road.” Donghyuck is about to speak but Mark cuts him off. “If you call yourself a horrible person again, I swear I’ll call Johnny over and he’ll  _ literally _ give you a lecture.” 

Donghyuck lets out a tiny chuckle and Mark smiles as he continues to speak. “Hey, I may not know you when you were a kid, but I know you now and I’m going to be honest, sure you were annoying when we first met. You talked too much and you were loud, ow, don’t hit me. But That’s what I liked about you. You’re fun to talk to and you’re never afraid to voice your opinions even if they’re harsh. I like a lot of things about you that you might even know about yourself. Like when you smile, your nose scrunches up into a cute little button, and your hands are so soft to hold, and you have the cutest laugh.”

As if on cue, Donghyuck laughs through his tears and sniffles. “Mark Lee, are you confessing your feelings for me?” Mark pauses and Donghyuck notices the pause. “Mark?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Mark answers. “I like you Donghyuck. I think for quite some time now.”

Donghyuck blinks three times, trying to process the words. “Oh.” He says. “Well, I like you too.” He spits out and Mark blinks in response. 

“Can I kiss you?” Mark asks.

“Yes, yes you can.” Donghyuck answers and he lets Mark lean in, pressing his lips against his own. They’re soft, just as Donghyuck had thought. And when he feels Mark’s tongue asking for entrance, Donghyuck lets him and the fireworks go off in their heads. 

The crowd is a lot more excited for the final tournament day, The Battle Royale. No balloons, no race, no funny obstacles, but finally a full on battle with all the guild members. 

Mark stares at his mirror reflection in the waiting room. He’s not nervous, maybe a little anxious, but he’s very excited. He’s trained months for this day and it’s finally here. It’s time to finally pay off his training. 

“Hey there,” Donghyuck calls, smiling as he back hugs Mark. He’s a lot brighter than last night, probably because they finally confessed their feelings for each other and talked all night about stupid romantic things. Donghyuck isn’t as upset about Jaemin as much anymore. Mark was right, he needs to take the high road. 

“Hey yourself,” Mark says, turning around so he can plant a fat, sweet kiss on Donghyuck’s lips. They smile at each other and there’s a groan from Johnny.

“It’s weird seeing my kids like this.” Johnny says and Taeyong rolls his eyes.

“Can you stop, they’re not your biological sons. Otherwise you’d have a big problem.” Taeyong says and pulls the two kids into a tight hug. “I’m glad you both are feeling better. Go out there and show what Mad City can do.”

“Roger.” Mark and Donghyuck say in unison, smiling at each other.

Donghyuck meets Renjun out in the hall where the boy had been calming himself with chocolate. “It’s finally the day.” Renjun says, smiling at Donghyuck. “I can’t believe we’re finally here, you and I. We dreamed about this ever since we were kids, remember?”

“Of course.” Donghyuck says, smiling at the Chinese boy. “Though we’d promise that we’d be in the same guild.”

Renjun laughs, knowing there’s no negative feeling in Donghyuck’s words. “I think it’s better that we’re in different guilds.” He says. “I love Vision with all my heart. It taught me how to grow and how to be my best. Kun ge, Ten ge, Chenle, everyone in Vision, we all look out for each other and that’s what I love about us. I never would have thought I’d be able to get first place in a  _ relay race _ .” 

“Oh stop, I’m still surprised by that.” Donghyuck jokes again. 

Renjun smiles. “I’m glad you’re a lot happier than yesterday. Promise me, whatever happens today, we will have no hard feelings.”

Donghyuck smiles and in the corner of his eye behind Renjun, he sees Jaemin grabbing a drink from the vending machine. Donghyuck nods. “Of course. No hard feelings.”

Mark reaches his hand out and holds on Donghyuck’s soft ones. “Ready?” He asks. Donghyuck nods and they walk out into the arena. The crowd cheers louder when the guild members appear to gather in the center. 

“Welcome to the Tournament Finale!” The host begins, rowding the crowd higher. “We’ve waited long enough for the Battle Royale. Are the guild members ready?”

Donghyuck sees Jaemin in front of him and he bravely calls the boy’s name. “Jaemin.” The boy turns around, almost surprised at his name being called. Donghyuck smiles. “Good luck.” He says and Jaemin blinks, almost letting out a scoff before he turns back around. It doesn’t bother Donghyuck though. He turns to Mark who turns to look at him. “Let’s win this.” He says and Mark nods, leaning in to press his lips against Donghyuck’s.

“Let the Neo Tech Battle Royale begin!” 

The arena shifts and the guild members virtually spread around the field. It’s a mountain terrain with a forest surrounding. Mark holds Donghyuck’s hand tight. “Remember the combo?” He asks and Donghyuck nods.

“Fullsun, virtualize.” He says, grabbing his mage staff. “Defense boost. Stealth boost. Power boost.” He enchants the powerups as follows before starting to look around their surroundings. But before they could even do anything, they heard the host on the speaker. 

“Wonderland’s Choi San and Jung Wooyoung OUT.”

Mark’s eyes widen at the announcement as the screen shows the two eliminated members above. “How?” Mark breathes out, almost speechless.

“Right at the beginning of the game, aw man!” The announcer continues. “They were taken out by no other than New Love! Jeno had already ganged up behind San and landed a one hit KO punch that left Wooyoung to defend by himself but he was quickly spotted by Jaemin with his impeccable sniper skills and took him out easily!”

“No surprise there.” Donghyuck says. The game has begun and he can hear the yelling and blasts from everything. “Come on, we can’t be sitting ducks here.”

The first duo to face them is Joo Haknyeon and Kim Sunwoo from The Boyz Guild.  _ A Slayer and Gunpointer _ , Donghyuck remembers them. “Shield!” Donghyuck calls when Sunwoo starts to fire with this shotgun. “Mark, take the Gunpointer!”

“You got it! Heartbreaker, visualize!” He loads his Flame Cannon and blasts a huge ball of flame at Sunwoo, stopping his gun fires and easily taking him out. Donghyuck takes this chance to battle Haknyeon head on, defeating him with consecutive fireball hits.

“The Boyz’s Joo Haknyeon and Kim Sunwoo, OUT! Taken out by Mad City’s Mark and Donghyuck! What great teamwork!”

Mark smiles when Donghyuck grins as the two The Boyz members huff sitting on the ground, a floating red OUT sign bouncing on top of their heads. 

“Come on,” Mark says, “Let’s keep going.”

The duo took out a couple of more guilds and the number of the contestants were decreasing. Things are going well, until it doesn’t. Donghyuck gets separately with Mark when they both dodge an incoming attack. But now isn’t the time to worry for each other. They planned that if either of them get separated, just keep going.

Donghyuck runs into Hyunjin with his Levanter Blade. “This is for the balloon round!” Hyunjin says, swinging his blade to wipe a gust of wind that nearly blows Donghyuck backwards. Hyunjin is strong, but Donghyuck isn’t backing down.

“Neutralize!” Donghyuck commands, nullifying the extra power boost Hyunjin had received from Seungmin’s enchantment powers. “Sun Flare!” He creates a large sun of fire and aims at Hyunjin who barely escapes it. They fight head on with Donghyuck’s mage staff against Hyunjin’s blade.

  
  


“He’s strong.” Taeyong says, watching their youngest guild member. 

Johnny smirks. “But Donghyuck has everything under control.”

“District Nine’s Kim Seungmin, OUT!”

Hyunjin stops in his tracks. “Seungmin?” He breathes out, seeing his partner’s projection on the screen. His eyes look so sad Donghyuck almost feels sorry for him. 

“Taken out by Mad City’s Mark Lee!”

Okay, Donghyuck feels sorry for him.

Hyunjin growls and glares at Donghyuck. “That’s your partner!” He shouts as he swings his blade at the mage who blocks it with his magic, sending Hyunjin backwards. 

“You two should have never separated. It only leaves Seungmin open for an attack.” Donghyuck says, lifting his staff to finish Hyunjin only to hear bullets coming from behind the boy and Donghyuck watches Hyunjin’s health points hit zero.

“District Nine’s Hwang Hyunjin OUT! By New Love’s Na Jaemin!”

Of course, Jaemin, Donghyuck thinks. He must be nearby and saw that Hyunjin was already low on health and took the opportunity to take him out. But Donghyuck knows he’s safe for now. He knows Jaemin is saving the best for last.

Hyunjin huffs and plops himself onto the ground, the red OUT signal floating on his head. “Ugh, taken out by Na Jaemin.” He says, propping his chin onto his palm. He waves his palm at Donghyuck. “Whatever, I’m not mad at you. Good luck with everything.” He says and Donghyuck thanks him before taking his leave but not after seeing Seungmin meet up with Hyunjin and the latter lights up like a Christmas tree as he pulls Seungmin into a tight hug.

“What should we do now?” Hyunjin asks.

Seungmin shrugs. “I don’t know. Sleep, I guess.”

Hyunjin smiles. “That’s a nice idea, babe.”

The number of contestants have decreased immensely as Mark walks around the forest. He sees the defeated contestants just sitting out with their red signal bouncing on their heads, just waiting for the competition to end already. 

The bushes start rustling and Mark is jumped by Lee Chan from the Seventeen Guild.  _ A Damager _ , Mark remembers from Donghyuck’s notes. He dodges a punch but Chan lands a clear kick on Mark’s stomach. It hurt, but not as much as Jeno’s punches. 

“Alright, get ready.” Mark says. “Heartbreaker retreat, Mad Dog and Cherry Bomb visualize!” He trades in his cannon for his precious handguns and begins firing at Chan who barely has time to process and he’s taken a couple of hits. 

“Hm, I’ll take that.” 

Mark hears a voice from the trees as he turns to see Chenle standing on top of a branch with his Dunk Shot gun. “Fire!” He takes away Chan’s health and there goes another contestant.

“Seventeen’s Lee Chan, OUT! By Vision’s Zhong Chenle!”

“Woohoo, got another one!” Chenle cheers, jumping up and down in victory but it doesn’t last long until all of a sudden he’s pushed from behind and he falls from the branch. Mark’s eyes widened. Jeno. 

Jeno jumps and slams down onto Chenle, leaving him nothing but a red OUT signal on his head.

“Vision’s Zhong Chenle, OUT! By New Love’s Lee Jeno!”

Kun groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I told that kid  _ not _ to get too excited and focus on the game seriously!” He sighs and Ten laughs next to him, patting his leader’s back with affection. 

“One of our boys is still in there.” Ten says.

“YEAH, COME ON RENJUN!” Yukhei shouts. “YOU CAN DO IT RENJUN!”

“No fair!” Chenle whines childishly. “You can’t just  _ push _ me off a tree!”

Jeno jumps off and ruffles his hand through Chenle’s hair. “Too bad kid,” he says and Chenle puffs up his cheeks in annoyance.

“You’re only one year older than me!”

Jeno turns to look at Mark, his smile immediately falls. Mark gets ready but Jeno doesn’t attack. “It’s not time to fight you yet.” Jeno says as he runs off, leaving Mark confused.

Only five left, Donghyuck reads the screen as he’s roaming around the clear plains. It’s a risk, considering he’s wide in the open with no hiding spot, but if he calculates this carefully, he can use the field to his advantage. There’s only five of them left after all. He walks around more and as he expected, he’s ambushed by no other than Renjun.

Renjun is small so he’s able to hide in even the clearest places. He clashes his archer bow, Drippin, against Donghyuck’s mage staff. “Hey there Hyuckie,” jumping backwards onto a boulder. He virtualizes a bow and stretches it onto his bow and aims it at Donghyuck.

“Shield!” Donghyuck calls, blocking the sharp arrow. 

Renjun chuckles. “I was wondering when I’d see you here.”

“I’ve been around.” Donghyuck replies. “I’m surprised how high you jumped onto that boulder.”

“Sicheng ge taught me balance, and most about martial arts. And this archer bow,” Renjun waves his Launcher weapon, “is a gift from Kun ge.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes but smiles. “Let’s see how well you use it then.” He says and their fight starts. Donghyuck dodges Renjun’s arrows as he runs around the boulder. Renjun may be a skilled aimer, but tends to stay in one place when using his bow. After what seems to be Renjun running out of arrows at the moment, Donghyuck takes this chance. “Mark, now!”

Mark comes out from behind another boulder with his Heartbreaker and fires his shots at Renjun, making him fall down from his spot and right in front of Donghyuck who takes his finishing Health points. 

“Vision’s Huang Renjun, OUT! By Mad City’s Lee Donghyuck!”

Renjun sighs but nevertheless he’s smiling as he looks up at Donghyuck. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to beat you.” He says and Donghyuck blinks at him. “You have this look on your face when you’re playing Neo Tech, Hyuck. It shows how much you love this game and that’s why I could never beat you.”

Donghyuck smiles, lending a hand to help Renjun up. “Happy third place, Renjun.” He says and Renjun laughs loudly, smacking Donghyuck’s shoulder and telling him to run off. He’s not done yet. “I’ll see you at the winning ceremony when we get first place.” He says and Renjun smiles.

“You better get first place. If I’m taken out by anyone, it better be first place. Now go. You still have the strongest two guild members to beat.”

Donghyuck smiles and hugs the Chinese boy. “Thank you, Jun.” He says and he takes off with Mark. They run across the field and into the forest. 

“Where do you think they could be?” Mark asks.

“Easy,” Donghyuck answers and points to the highest mountain. “Typical sniper shot, even if it’s Na Jaemin. And with Jeno, he should be close by.” As soon as he said that, Jeno pops up from the bushes and takes a hit on Mark. Donghyuck gasps, not realizing how close Jeno actually was. He must have been on their tracks the entire time. “Mark!”

Mark blocks Jeno’s punch. “Go, Donghyuck, go! I’ll handle Jeno!” 

Donghyuck nods and immediately sprints towards the highest mountain, trusting Mark to face off with Jeno. The atmosphere around them is intense to the point Mark feels like he could suffocate at any moment. 

Jeno attacks first with silent movements, swinging consecutive punches that Mark has never even seen before. He loses a large portion of health when Jeno lands a punch on his stomach that lands him flying to the tree. 

“I can’t stand looking at you.” Jeno says, jumping around in a fighting movement. “Your face annoys me.” He visualizes his Boom and 119 gauntlets onto his fists, preparing for another attack.

Mark chuckles and stands up from his fall. “I’m sorry to hear that. But you’re not exactly artwork to look at either.” He says, loading his Mad Dog and Cherry Bomb. He fires at Jeno, who’s skilled enough to dodge his bullets but it keeps him busy. “What’s your problem with me anyway?!” Mark shouts. “Last time I checked, I don’t remember doing anything to you!”

Jeno grunts, a hit landing on his bare arm. “If you don’t know, then it’s not my problem!” 

Mark scoffs. “Then what is it?! What, did we happen to meet somewhere and I stole your ice cream or something? Quit being so mysterious with your bad boy image and spit it out already!”

“It’s Donghyuck!” Jeno finally says. Mark stops firing, lowering his gun just a little bit. 

“Donghyuck? What about Donghyuck?” Mark asks and he gasps. “Are you in love with my boyfriend?!”

Jeno stops moving. “What? No! It’s about Donghyuck and Jaemin!”

“Oh,” Mark relaxes, “What about them? I assume their problem shouldn’t be either of our business.”

“Well, it is!” Jeno shouts, punching Mark’s side that the latter dodges. “If you haven’t noticed, I love Jaemin!” He continues. “After meeting him, he’s the light of my world. He helped bring me out of my darkest time and I owe him my everything! But, your Donghyuck, he’s the reason why Jaemin is upset. You don’t know how many times Jaemin has cried himself to sleep because of Donghyuck!”

“So what’s that gotta do with hating me?!”

“Because you’re Donghyuck’s friend! He accepted you and not Jaemin. So seeing your face just reminds me of Jaemin’s cries and his sleepless nights. Your face annoys me!”

“Alright, that’s it.” Mark growls out of annoyance and retreats his Mad Dog and Cherry Bomb. “Grow the fuck up already!” He shouts, punching Jeno’s face and sends him to the ground. Jeno, shocked at the sudden hit, looks up at Mark. “What? Did you think you’re the only Damager here? I can hit a few good punches too. It’s not like my boxing training with Johnny was easy.”

Johnny laughs at the distance.

“But you,” Mark picks up Jeno by his collar, “you need to channel your anger on something else. I know you love and care for Jaemin. I love Donghyuck, but I can’t be dependent on him nor should he be on me. You think it’s fine if Jaemin depends on you, that you take the fall so he doesn’t. Well, news flash, if you keep doing that, you’re harming not only yourself but also Jaemin.”

Jeno’s starting wide eyed at Mark. “W-What?”

“Think about yourself for once. I’m sure Jaemin loves you too, but he needs to stop with his childish grudge with Donghyuck because if he keeps reminding himself of his anger, then he will  _ only _ see his anger.” Mark gives Jeno another punch. “If you love him so much,  _ you _ need to teach him how to  _ move on _ , for the both of you, otherwise you both would just live in this pile of useless anger while everyone else goes on with their lives.”

There’s an explosion from the mountain. Jeno looks past Mark and at the spot where Jaemin is. He’s probably engaging in his fight with Donghyuck now, and Jeno isn’t there to help him. No, because this is Jaemin’s fight. With one final punch from Mark, Jeno’s health points hit zero and he falls down to his knees with the familiar red ‘OUT’ sign floating above his head. 

“New Love’s Lee Jeno, OUT! By Mad City’s Mark Lee!”

Doyoung takes in a breath as he sees Jeno fall to his knees. “Well, that was unexpected.” He says and fights back the tears forming in his eyes. “But it was needed.”

Jaehyun sighs next to his partner. “Perhaps this will teach him a valuable lesson.” He turns to Johnny and Taeyong. “You taught that boy well.” He compliments them. 

Jeno has always been a hotheaded boy who has trouble controlling his emotions most of the time. But perhaps this loss will finally get it through his head. 

Jaehyun turns to the empty seat that Jungwoo was supposed to be sitting in.

And maybe, just maybe, it might just help another member of their guild as well.

“Jaemin, I’m so sorry.” Jeno cries. 

Mark sighs and leans down to Jeno’s height. “Dude, I really don't hate you. I just didn’t like your attitude.” He says and reaches out a hand. “I’m not asking to be your friend, but you know, you should at least start by not hating me anymore.”

Jeno stares at Mark and then at hand before taking it. He gets up from the ground and pats his knees. “You should go and help Donghyuck.” He says. “Jaemin is not an easy opponent.”

Mark agrees and begins to walk towards the mountain but he turns to Jeno and says, “Well, Donghyuck is not one easy opponent either.”

Jaemin stares at Jeno’s face on the screen. He’s half surprised; part of him thought Jeno could face Mark easily, but the other part had a feeling Mark would overpower him in some way. “It’s okay, Jeno.” Jaemin says under his breath, hoping Jeno knows that he could never be mad at him. 

He’s been waiting for this moment this entire tournament, no, these past few years to be face to face with Donghyuck. He could’ve taken him out with his Sniper gun easily from the start, but unlike the other contestants, Donghyuck is special. He wanted to save him for last.

“So we’re finally here.” Donghyuck says, standing in front of Jaemin. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“I don’t enjoy being mocked.” Jaemin grunts, loading his pair of guns into his palms. He points them at Donghyuck. “I’m just here to win and prove to you why I’m the top player in Neo Tech.” He aims the first shot at Donghyuck’s shoulder and it chips away his health points. Jaemin pauses. “Why aren’t you dodging my bullets?” He asks quietly.

Donghyuck puts down his staff. “I can’t fight you.” He suddenly confesses and Jaemin’s face freezes in his place. “I can’t fight you after knowing what I’ve done to you. All those things I did, I regret them so much. I regret hurting you so much.”

“Liar!” Jaemin shoots another bullet. “You’re a liar!” He’s so angry, so full of hatred that he starts aiming everywhere, not bothering if he hits Donghyuck or not.

“Jaemin, I’m sorry.” Donghyuck builds up his courage to say. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. I’m sorry I made you feel worthless. I’m sorry I wasn’t a friend.” He begins walking towards the boy with a genuine look in his eyes and Jaemin begins to panic.

“Stand back! Don’t come any closer!”

“Jaemin, please listen to me.”

“Donghyuck!” Mark arrives at the scene, panting after having to run up the high mountain. But Jaemin doesn’t take a second to press the button on his belt that triggers a mine bomb to explode under Mark’s feet. 

“Mark!” Donghyuck watches as the boy flies into the air, his health points immediately hitting to zero when he lands back down. The OUT signal appears above Mark’s head and Donghyuck runs to him, hugging him tightly. 

“Mad City’s Mark Lee, OUT! By New Love’s Na Jaemin!”

Donghyuck chuckles. “You idiot, why did you run all the way up here?” He says and Mark smiles, hsi cheekbones heightening as he pecks the younger boy’s lips. 

“I came to cheer for you, of course. Though I didn’t expect to get blasted.” Mark laughs, smiling at both Donghyuck and Jaemin. “Good luck to the both of you.”

Donghyuck turns back to Jaemin who’s starting to quietly sob to himself. But he’s glaring at Donghyuck with such hatred in his eyes. It’s a sight that Donghyuck found sad to witness, especially at the thought that he could’ve turned like how Jaemin is right now, letting his hatred and grudge take over his emotions. 

But something flashes in Jaemin’s eyes. His tears flow down his face and he begins to hiccup. “Please,” Jaemin says in a mere whisper, “Please just battle me. Play a match with me, that’s all I ever wanted.”

“Jaemin…” Donghyuck calls gently. “I never thought you were worthless. In fact, I admired you as well.” He says and Jaemin blinks in confusion through his tears. “Do you remember? When I always get mad every time we lose a match? I was never mad at you, I was upset at myself for not being able to smile like you always did. I thought you were so strong for always smiling when I was actually the crybaby.” Donghyuck grabs his staff from the ground and faces Jaemin with determination in his eyes. “I didn’t know anything better back then. But I’ve grown. I’ve had so many people teach me. Johnny hyung, Taeyong hyung, Taeil hyung, Yuta hyung, Mark, the entire guild. It was stupid of me to hate you for so long over something so childish and I realized that now. We can start over again, Jaemin, I want to be your friend, for real this time. And to prove it, you deserve a fair fight with no hard feelings.”

Donghyuck boosts his abilities with his magic and he finally smiles at Jaemin who is taken back at the sudden gesture. But he stops crying and he slowly regains his consciousness. “Do you mean it?” Jaemin asks. Donghyuck nods and for once, he likes the way Jaemin smiles. “Thank you, Donghyuck.”

“Someone looks incredibly handsome tonight.” Donghyuck says as he enters the dressing room to see Mark, his boyfriend, dressed in a nice black tuxedo, in contrast to Donghyuck’s red tux, for the Closing Party. He grins at Mark’s boyish smile and reaches to fix his tie before pressing his lips against the older boy’s waiting ones. A nice smell aroma drifts into Donghyuck’s nose and he pauses, giving Mark a small sniffle. “Are you wearing cologne?”

Mark visibly freezes. “Uh, y-yeah. Johnny lent it to me.” He says, although it took a lot to convince Johnny to let him borrow his favorite cologne. “Is it nice?”

Mark thinks Donghyuck’s smile is very sweet. “Very nice.”

“Knock, knock,” the two Mad City leaders stand by the door, also dressed in handsome tuxedos for the Party. “There are our two winners.” Taeyong says. He’s wearing a dark crimson red tuxedo while Johnny wears a nice hazel. “You both look amazing.”

Mark smiles as Taeyong hugs the both of them. “Thanks hyung, you two look great too.”

“Come on, let’s go to the party already,” Johnny says excitedly as he jumps up and down. “We gotta go before Jaehyun and Doyoung drink all the champagne!”

Taeyong laughs, “Alright, alright, let’s go.”

The party’s held at the Regular Hotel rooftop and it seems like the four Mad City members are the last to arrive. Donghyuck is immediately hugged by Renjun, dressed in a gold colored tux, who congratulates the two for winning first place. Donghyuck smiles, patting the boy’s head. 

“I’ll go get us some food,” Mark says, pecking Donghyuck’s cheek before heading to the buffet. Donghyuck nods and Renjun giggles next to him.

“You got yourself a keeper.” Renjun teases as Donghyuck’s face reddens but he doesn’t deny it, because he does have himself a keeper. 

“Donghyuck,” Jaemin calls. He’s in an outfit as pink as his person as he walks towards him. He smiles, and Donghyuck loves how genuine his smile is. “Congratulations on first place.” He says, reaching out to give Donghyuck a warm hug. 

Battling Jaemin was not easy. It was clear that the boy was far more trained and far more determined to win, but that didn’t mean Donghyuck was short on anything. He gave it his all and after a long battle, Donghyuck managed to land the final blow and take the win.

“Thank you, Jaemin, for everything and for giving me a second chance.” Donghyuck whispers. 

Jaemin smiles and there’s a sudden crash from the buffet. They run to the scene where Mark and Jeno seem to be arguing loudly over each other.

“That was my slice of cake!” Mark shouts.

“I got it first!” Jeno shouts back.

“No, you didn’t!”

“Yes, I did!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!” 

“Hey, no fighting!” Jaehyun shouts, picking Jeno up as Johnny holds Mark back. “How many times do we have to remind you two to get along?”

“Hyung, I got the cake first!” Jeno says to Jaehyun. “It’s raspberry, Jaemin’s favorite!”

“It’s also Donghyuck’s favorite!” Mark says to Johnny. “And I got it first! You snatched it from me!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

Taeyong and Doyoung sigh, pinching the bridge of their nose. “Seriously, you two are impossible to deal with.” Taeyong says as he takes a knife and slices the cake into two smaller pieces. “There’s more coming soon, so stop whining.”

Mark frowns as he takes the cake back to Donghyuck who’s holding his best to hide his laughter. “I would’ve gotten you a bigger one...” Mark says, actually pouting a little as he stares at the shrunken slice of cake. Donghyuck only smiles, holding Mark’s face by his cheeks and leaning in to kiss his lips. 

“Thanks for the cake.” Donghyuck says and Mark breaks into a smile. At the side, he could see Jaemin soothing Jeno with giggles and kisses.

“I got it first…” Jeno mumbles and his boyfriend grins.

“I know, it’s okay baby.” Jaemin says, pecking the tip of Jeno’s nose. He looks over and meets eye contact with Donghyuck.

“I still don’t like you.” Jeno says to Mark. 

Mark rolls his eyes. “And here I thought you’d give me a love letter.”

Donghyuck and Jaemin smile at each other, holding their pouting boyfriends as Renjun, Chenle, and even Jisung run over to inform them about the upcoming Summer Tournament Cup.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed this fic! this is my second NCT fic and I was so invested writing about this especially writing with new characters, new names, and new ships so please look out for more upcoming nct fics :)
> 
> please leave a kudo and a lot of comments!
> 
> follow me here! [twitter](https://twitter.com/wreckedshoes)  
> 


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